Over the river and through the woods...to Grandma's (and Grandpa's) House we go!

Oh how I loved this weekend!! The kids and I traveled to visit my beloved Grandparents who live about 3 1/2 hours away up north. They live on a huge farm with my Uncle John being a farmer with 5 horses- and tons of land. The kids are just in heaven there, playing outside, in the pasture with the horses, communicating via walkie talkie, and just being in the wide open! I hardly know they are even there- since I spend a majority of my time with my grandparents who are just treasures. We got there around 1pm on Friday (the kids didn't have school), and the weather is usually about 10 degrees cooler there- so it wasn't necessarily warm, but not too cold, either. The kids immediately took off to visit the horses and left Celeste and I to prepare dinner for the family. I can't say we did a whole lot this visit- we hardly do- but that is the simplicity of it all- just relaxing, enjoying the people who are the dearest to us. My grandma is in great health, though sometimes her memory is not as sharp, but my grandpa fills in and we just love the conversations we have. I get to see my aunts I love, Pam and Trudy, and Jane. My cousins Jen and Kelly came out with their kids, and that was super fun too. Kelly's youngest son, Caden is a month younger than Alex, so they hung out perfectly yesterday. Leah spent a large amount of time picking and eating all the raspberries from Grandma's garden and Jane's- she was loving it! I tried to take lots of pictures- I succeeded- 106! Here are some of my favorites:

Alex found this huge pile of dirt that my uncle had made and so he found a 16 foot stick with a towel that read: "Alex- keep away or die" on it! He had John dig a whole for it in the dirt and put it in- Alex was so excited and proud of that! He is hilarious! Celeste loves all the pets that are there- especially the dogs- Lucy, my grandparents little one, and Jack, my uncle's. She could play with them all day. Here are some random cute shots of the girls:

Today, though these pictures make me smile- I am sad because I know we won't see my grandparents again until the spring. We only made it up there twice this year, and I hated that. I hope we make it up a more next year- and hope that the winter is short and Spring comes soon! We love you, Grandma and Grandpa!!

The Pumpkin SHOW

Last night, we went to the Pumpkin SHOW! I realized that the last post I had of "fairs", I left such a negative vibe about how I feel about fairs. Well, to be fair, I don't hate them, I just feel gross and dirty after leaving them. BUT, this is not a fair- The Pumpkin SHOW is not a fair, per se, it is a "show", and different types of people frequent "shows" versus "fairs". Do you see where I am going with this?! Okay, so, we love The Pumpkin SHOW, and we go every year! We love this one- pumpkins everywhere, and orange too. The kids love it- let's be honest, they love the fair, too! We always indulge in pumpkin ice cream, and usually other pumpkin delicacies- they make so much pumpkin goodies- it is hard to pass up! This year, since we are cheap (well, we are cheap every year), we ate at McDonald's on the way there and just got the pumpkin ice cream and a funnel cake- so good! The kids played games, won prizes (thanks to our friend, CeeCee, who paid for their games)- and they didn't even request to ride a single ride!! I was so happy!! You know how I feel about those! It was perfect weather- the threat of rain just passed us by- the sun was out and it was wonderful! Afterward we went to Carmen and Steve's house -where we parked- and hung out until 9pm!! Wow- we were out late, huh?! It's a school night! The kids were ecstatic about that! They love Carmen and Steve, plus they have an amazing house there that the kids just love too. Overall, an A+ night- and here are lots of pics:

Celeste rides "Dollar", a pony that Leah actually rode on last year! She was so happy!

She just smiled the whole time- last year she wouldn't even get close!

This pumpkin disply in the back is my very favorite part- I think it is just so cool.

Alex is in desperate need of a hair cut- though he so loves how it spikes in the very front.

Leah took this as people were passing by- notice only Dana's head was cut off- not too bad, Leah!

Celeste has become quite the poser, as I am sure you've noticed- here she is again and again...

We played the water squirting game- I helped Celeste, but ultimately Alex won, though the very nice guy gave them all prizes!

Here they are with all their "crap", as I call it!

Aunt CeeCee and Leah!

Leah plays the dart hit balloon game and gets 2 out of 3- and she has never played before!!!

Alex plays too- and hits 6 out of 6- to win a cool prize!

He wanted this Siberian Husky stuffed animal, because it looks just like Aunt Ivy's real dog, Cora- so he named his Cora too and he hasn't let it out of his sight- funny!

Here they play the cane game, where you toss rings to land over a cane- nearly impossible, but we manage to blow $5 just trying...whatever, they had fun!

On our walk back to Carmen and Steve's- the bush in the background is lighted up like a pumpkin and I just wanted one pic of it, but my flash went off, and it looks light outside, though it was getting dark. Oh well.

Alex wanted to take one last shot- this is as we head home.

The SHOW was awesome, and until next year- I will for sure get my cheese on a stick next time- it smelled so yummy, but I am trying not to eat fried food- but I had already had french fries- oh well.... it was still worth it!